Everything you need to know about the April 2018 diesel ‘road tax’ changes

Many motorists may be concerned about the changes to VED bands and how it will affect their pockets and their choice of car. Here’s all you need to know.

What are the changes?

In the government’s Autumn Budget, Philip Hammond announced ALL new diesel cars registered from 1 April 2018 will face a first-year tax increase if they do not meet the necessary standards in real-world emission tests.

The increase only applies to first-year VED rates; the subsequent set annual rate of £140 will not be changed. This means unless you are the first-registered keeper of a vehicle, you won’t be affected.

Are the changes fair?

The change doesn’t apply to any diesel vehicles that are already on the road or already meed RDE2 requirements – they’ll remain in their current tax band. Vans and commercial vehicles are also exempt from the rise.

Given that RDE2 testing is more rigorous than Euro 6 and isn’t set to become the industry standard until 2020, many have called the government plans unfair. It would appear certain cars will be punished for not conforming to a 2020 regulation… from April 2018.

Mike Hawes of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders commented: “It's unrealistic to think that we can fast-track the introduction of the next generation of clean diesel technology which takes years to develop, in just four months. This budget will also do nothing to remove the oldest, most polluting vehicles from our roads in the coming years.”

How much will first-year VED for diesels increase?

Because cars that fail to meet the new standards will be pushed up a tax band, the exact increase in cost will depend very much on how polluting the car in question was in the first place.

A small supermini can expect to increase no more than £15, but large-engined cars could see first-year rates rise by over £500.

It's worth nothing that the following rates will only apply to diesels that don't meet necessary RDE2 standards: